explore the web! - browser basics

tutor.gif (7193 bytes)

Browser Basics:

A web browser is a software application that allows you to easily access text and graphic files located on computers around the world. In general, when using your web browser, clicking on any underlined text displayed in a contrasting color or on any graphic image outlined in a contrasting color will take you directly to another location on the Web. A link that you have already visited will be displayed in a different color. World Wide Web navigation is a simple matter of pointing and clicking your mouse button.

The two most widely-used web browsers these days are the Netscape Navigator and the Internet Explorer browsers. Both display the URL (Internet address) of the current webpage in a Location box located directly above the webpage itself. Above this location box are located the basic navigation buttons or icons that you will use to navigate around the world wide web. The arrangement of these buttons is slightly different from browser to browser but the function of each is exactly the same.

All browsers offer on-screen Help for the new user. Exploring the Help files will be most useful as you develop your understanding of the features of the web browser that you are using. As you upgrade to newer versions of the browser software, this is where you will want to look first to figure out how to use the new features that are being continually added to each new release.

No matter where you wander on your journeys through the world wide web, clicking on the Home button will always return you to the webpage you have selected as your home location. Most web browsers come pre-configured with a home location set by your Internet Service Provider, but you can change this page if you find a better web portal.

The Stop button is used to stop the download of a new webpage if you suddenly change your mind or if the page is taking forever to download (an all-too-frequent occurrence these days with increasing web traffic and the increase in high-density, graphics-laden webpages!)

Clicking on the Print button or icon will initialize your printer and print a copy of the webpage currently on your screen.

The Reload or Refresh button sends another request to the webserver asking it to download the current page again. You may need to do this if the graphic images on the webpage you are downloading don’t display properly (This just happens sometimes… you will see an image icon displayed instead of the graphic that should be there. Clicking on Reload will usually take care of the problem.) You will also want to use the Reload button when accessing websites that are frequently updated. The browser will, by default, load any pages that you have visited recently from the disk cache, a location on your hard drive where the browser temporarily stores the pages you have visited. If the browser sees that the webpage you have selected is in the disk cache, it will load the older version rather than a fresh, new one. This is actually a great feature as it cuts down on network traffic and causes the pages to appear on your screen much quicker than if you had to reload each and every page. If you want or need a updated version of the webpage, just click on Reload and you’ll get a fresh copy.

The Back and Forward buttons also use the disk cache we mentioned a minute ago. After you have moved away from your homepage and followed several links in your current excursion on the Web, you can click these buttons to almost instantly navigate to previously visited pages. You will notice that these buttons don't work when you first open the web browser for a new session. You can’t go back if you haven’t been there and you can only go forward if you’ve already been there and then gone back… makes sense doesn’t it?

Most web browsers have a great little mouse trick that can save you the trouble of moving the cursor back up to the button bar. If you hold down the right mouse button on a PC (Mac users just need to hold down their one-and-only mouse button), a little menu will pop up on the screen giving you the option of going Back or Forward.

All browsers have another feature that allows you to easily return to the interesting websites that you find in your exploration of the world wide web. Can you imagine what it would be like if you had to write down all those URL’s for the webpages you find? Netscape calls this feature Bookmarks, Microsoft Internet Explorer calls it the Favorites list. The concept is the same for all browsers, but how you use it differs slightly. If you are not familiar with saving bookmarks or favorites, you will want to check the help files now to discover how to add bookmarks or favorites

You have several options for opening a new webpage. Netscape has an Open button in the button bar. Internet Explorer has an Open Location option in the File menu. Selecting any of these will open a dialog box on the screen. Type the URL of the webpage you want to visit in this box and click OK or hit the Enter/Return key. Another option that works with all browsers (and uses less time!) is to hold down the mouse button while dragging across the URL currently in the location box above the webpage (the text will turn blue). Type the URL of the new page in the location box and hit the Enter/Return key. The browser will connect with the new page and it should appear on your screen.

All web browsers have built-in links to Search Engines and Web Portals that will help you find the information that you are looking for.

These are all the "Browser Basics" you will need to get started on your exploration of the World Wide Web. You can count on new web browser features appearing on a regular basis. For the most part these will be enhancements to the web browser you are already familiar with.